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Kenwood Chef -vs- Vintage K45

Kenwood Chef -vs- Vintage K45

My old Mixmaster finally bit the bucket. It has made a lot of bread and cookies over the years but it was never what I would consider "Heavy Duty"

So I am looking on ebay for something to replace it. There are several vintage kitchen aid mixers listed. I have read about the problems with the newer kitchen aid mixers not being what the old Hobart built ones were so I am limiting my search to "Hobart Kitchen Aid"

Then I came across a listing for the Kenwood Chef A702 w/450watt motor. I did some research and it looks like a solid built machine.

I usually bake 2 loaves at a time, as well as double batches of cookies.

I like Kenwood machines, as they have been built to a high standard and are very reliable. My wife got one for her 21st birthday and it's still perfect (except that I never quite clean it to her satisfaction.) I won't tell you how long ago that was, but we've been married for 17 years, and she was 34 when we started . . . uh-oh!

I have a Kenwood Chef which is 36 years old, yes that's right, it was bought for me in 1973!!! I use it regularly, more now than I used to, because I have renewed my interest in baking. It still works perfectly, all I have replaced is the bowl, the original was a Pyrex type and I broke it, the replacement is plastic. Just recently I felt I would like a newer model and looked in a local shop for prices. The salesman tried to put me off the Kenwood and buy a Kitchenaid instead, saying the newer Kenwoods are not as good as the older models. They are no longer made in this country (UK) and that was why he had little faith in them, apparently. So, instead of buying a Kitchenaid i decided to keep my old Kenwood, my old faithful!

I too have a Chef Major (A707) which was a wedding present in 1973. It comes standard with a 6 ltr stainless steel bowl. It's still going strong, but if you are looking for a second hand model get the slightly later version (A707A) with the uprated gearbox and beaters. There are currently at least 2 on UK eBay. Mine originally had nylon gears and beaters with fairly thin 7-8 mm shafts. Under heavy loads these could shear across the slot for the split ring. I upgraded mine to the A707A specification by retrofitting the metal gears and a new set of beaters with 10-11 mm shafts - no problems.

As for capacity, I regularly kneed dough starting with 1.5kg of flour and 900 -1000ml water, that is about 2.5kg in all (5.5 lb), although this is a bit above the stated capacity.

Back in 1960 my late father and I bought my mother a Chef 701 for their 20th wedding anniversary. As far as I know it's still working to this day at my brother-in-law's house.

Yes, I too had a Kenwood major for years. LOVED that machine. Try and find one if you can. Also got it in the 70's and had to do a few minor repairs on it over the years when it was easy to find someone. But then the motor finally bit the dust. I was doing heavy home baking with it. I have tried a few times to get it repaired but it would cost more than a new Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart or Viking mixer. Its all boxed up sitting in my garage waiting for the day when I will go for it and repair it. I have all the wonderful gizmos (attachments) that they sold too. The cream maker is a scream and takes milk and melted butter and pumps the fat back into it to make cream, cream fraiche or a clotted cream wannabe. There is a potato peeler- a bowl with a rough interior that rotates potatoes round and round that peels the skin off. The machine was well made and had a head that tipped back but was over a 7 qt. bowl that was tapered and extremely well designed for mixing. Tall and narrow. Nothing ever jumped out of it. The whisk that came with it is beautifully designed with lots of wires to whip egg whites or cream to a frenzy. The machine was strong but light enough to lift easily and move. I just can't say enough about it and how much I miss it.

Rockyrd, when I said that there were 2 currently on UK eBay, I failed to mention that at least one was missing most of its tools and was deemed only fit for spares. Maybe you could have a look and see if two into one will go? You should be able to get them cheap.

I got the parts to upgrade/repair my A707 from Masterspares back in 2001. They are still in business, but I suspect that phoning them (44)(0)23 8084 4338 would be quicker than trying to use the search facility on their site! I don't know where you live, but they are in Hythe, Southampton and talk about shipping to New Zealand at one point.

Thanks so much for the info. I started to look thru the list of things they sell - its a long list. It reminded me of other attachments I have that I have forgotten about that are packed away. The sieve, the meat grinder, blender etc. I live in the US and will have to figure how much the parts are in US $$ and shipping to see if its worth it. Once in a while I see one on Ebay but wonder if its in as bad a shape as mine. Meanwhile I am using my 38 year old Kitchen Aid K5A, but do miss my Kenwood.

The company I mentioned above seems to ship worldwide. I suggest you see if the cost of shipping spares from the UK to CA would be economical. Maybe Rockyrd could help on this. One word of warning, be sure that you check the working voltage of any motors you buy are 110V US models, not 240V European.

As a UK resident I have no knowledge of US parts distributors. As you probably know, the UK firm of Kenwood Limited has no connection with the US Hi-Fi firm of the same name. It is now owned by DeLongh.

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